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Spending cuts could cost Colo $48 million in wages

DENVER — A business official says the Colorado economy could lose more than $48 million in wages over the next few months if automatic spending cuts take effect and the military furloughs civilian employees without pay for one day a week.

Andrew Merritt, a defense industry expert with the Colorado Springs Regional Business Alliance, said Thursday that total is for Air Force civilian employees alone.

At least 3,000 other civilians work for the Army in Colorado. No estimate of lost wages was immediately available for them.

A total of more than 8,000 civilians work on Colorado military installations and could face furloughs if the spending cuts take hold.

That includes 300 civilian instructors at the Air Force Academy. School officials say schedules would be adjusted so cadet class time isn’t affected.